Time for Japan to take control of the Fukushima disaster

For more than two years we have watched how the Fukushima nuclear plant operator TEPCO has failed to take control of the disaster or be transparent about the real situation at the stricken plant, trying to hide problems such as leaking contaminated water.

TEPCO's mismanagement and ignorance of the facts played a key role both in causing the accident – the second worst nuclear accident in history – and increasing the severity of the disaster, according to the official Japanese government report.

But the Japanese government decided to keep TEPCO afloat with a bail-out of epic proportions, handing the management of the disaster back to those who caused it. The Japanese government did this against all commonsense, giving it an easy scapegoat to blame when things turned worse.

Only a couple of months ago a "rat-like animal" managed to knock out the Fukushima plant's cooling systems, causing the temperature to rise rapidly in the plant. And in the last few weeks the world has watched how the situation at Fukushima worsened again, this time with leaks of contaminated water.

It should not have come as a surprise though. Similar to how the experts had warned TEPCO about the vulnerability of the plant prior to the the accident, some experts had long ago also voiced concerns about contaminated water likely leaking into the ocean. But trying to save face, TEPCO hid the leaks.

Experts had estimated that 10,000 gallons of radioactive water leak from the reactors each month and currently, more than 200,000 tons of contaminated water are being stored at the plant.

TEPCO had destroyed an entire nearby forest to make room for extra tanks that will eventually store 700,000 tons of water, but there are still no plans in place for when those tanks also fill up. The only plan TEPCO has is to dump the water into the ocean once the radioactivity is reduced, but the exact technology to do that effectively has not yet been invented.

Now, finally, both the government and the nuclear regulator NRA are saying they will take control of the situation because TEPCO clearly does not seem to be able to handle it.

Ironically this is the same regulator which instead of keeping a watchful eye on the worst nuclear accident in the last 20 years has focused on re-starting the Japanese reactors that were shut down after the disaster. And this is also the government of a prime minister who was travelled the world as a 'nuclear salesman' while the Japanese people continued to suffer the effects of the Fukushima disaster.

The time has come for the government and the regulator to actually step up and take responsibility for what is happening at Fukushima. Greenpeace is calling for the government and the NRA to urgently prioritise efforts to bring the Fukushima accident finally under control.

It's time for the wellbeing of the Japanese people and their wish to move beyond nuclear energy to be honoured and put ahead of the demands of the nuclear industry. It's two and a half years overdue.

It is certainly shocking to see how TEPCO and the Japanese government have been covering up the reality of the ongoing spreading of radiation. Not onl...

It is certainly shocking to see how TEPCO and the Japanese government have been covering up the reality of the ongoing spreading of radiation. Not only endangering the people in Japan, but in the whole world. The government claims now they will intervene and take responsibility, but PM Shinzo Abe has mainly been defending and advertising nuclear power technology everywhere... trying to earn more money for his country. Other sources say that the Japanese Ministry Of Environment has secretly ordered the company Hitachi Zosen last year to build a radioactive waste incinerator in the village of Samegawa in the Fukushima prefecture, which has already been tested on July 18. The villagers are very concerned and totally disagree. Now I read that Hitachi Zosen has just appointed a new CEO, the Swiss/German Mr. Franz-Josef Mengede, who is also the president of the European Power Plant Suppliers Association (EPPSA). The nuclear power mafia knows they are in big trouble... because they put the health of the entire planet at risk without admitting it to the people. There is no solution for a MOX reactor which is melting down like happened in Fukushima and there is no safe solution for radioactive waste. The nuclear experts have been selling fairytales to the world, enriching themselves at the expense of the people everywhere. Horrible.

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(Unregistered) SusanStop
says:

It's time for the whole world to step up! Whether Japan wants it or not! We need a worldwide consortium made up of experts in the field to start brainstorming solutions to what is happening in Fukushima. We need them now. Each country will also need to commit funds to this effort, since it is and will continue to affect the entire planet. Is there any action that we can take to get something like this moving? I am thinking people like Arnie, Helen, Naoto Kan, hell even Michio Kaku types, but from many countries. Not having too many (if any) politicians and nuke industry people would be a good idea...

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(Unregistered) Salmony
says:

Even if human overpopulation is most colossal of the human-driven global challenge looming ominously before humankind, it is only one of a number of w...

Even if human overpopulation is most colossal of the human-driven global challenge looming ominously before humankind, it is only one of a number of wicked problems we are called upon to acknowledge and address. The Fukushima nuclear reactors disaster is another. If Japan cannot handle it alone, then an international team needs to be assembled to confront this cataclysm. Ignoring a big problem like this nuclear wreckage only results in a bigger, ever more wicked problem to overcome. My generation is simply not stepping up to the challenges before us. The consequences of our failures appear incalculably harmful and profound with regard to prospects for a good enough future for children everywhere on Earth. The very last thing a responsible person is to do in such circumstances is consciously and deliberately choose to remain silent, I believe. Are we not participants in and witnesses to a colossal failure of nerve? When are the leaders and followers alike going to speak out in an intellectually honest way and act with a sense of moral courage? How terrible are global challenges posed by nuclear disasters, overpopulation, climate destabilization, pollution, biodiversity loss, among other threats to future human well being and environmental health going to have to become on Earth before TPTB begin to talk about and do the right things, according to the lights and best available knowledge all of them and each of us possess?

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(Unregistered) scoobie
says:

as i read this "Only a couple of months ago a "rat-like animal" managed to knock out the Fukushima plant's cooling systems, causing...

as i read this "Only a couple of months ago a "rat-like animal" managed to knock out the Fukushima plant's cooling systems, causing the temperature to rise rapidly in the plant." well i thought the company who built the nuclear factory, would had have it made impossible for any animals to get in and solid too!! well my guess they were stupid but earthquake made matters worse

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(Unregistered) Danee
says:

I'm outraged that the world, and Greenpeace, is so slow in bringing this to the fore. We have radioactive water flowing into the Pacific Ocean an...

I'm outraged that the world, and Greenpeace, is so slow in bringing this to the fore. We have radioactive water flowing into the Pacific Ocean and there's not much visibly being done about it!! The Japanese government will take forever to move through their bureaucracy and act on it, if indeed they ever do. We need people on the front page of every newspaper, visible to the everyday world, demanding action. We need lawsuits initiated because of Tepco's failure to deal with it and the coverup. Let's get on with it people! What happened to the active Greeenpeace that was visible to all? The only thing I see from Greenpeace these days is people at my local health food parking lot asking people to join up.

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Jan Haverkamp - Greenpeace
says:

@Danee - Thank you for your call to action. Greenpeace has asked for attention to this leaking problem from the start, but I have to admit that that d...

@Danee - Thank you for your call to action. Greenpeace has asked for attention to this leaking problem from the start, but I have to admit that that did get snowed under in the vast amount of news that was coming from Fukushima in the first years. We will continue to demand international attention for this issue as well as the other important issues, like the lack of proper compensation for most of the victims of the catastrophe, the lack of responsibility taken by the constructors of the Fukushima nuclear reactors (Hitachi, GE, Toshiba), support for victims in assessing their and their environment's exposure to radioactivity. Please, continue helping the voice of the victims being made heard!

We are visible in this appeal - maybe not always in your national and local media, but certainly in the international media and there where media exposure can help making a difference, like recently in Poland during the nuclear sales visit of Japanese Prime Minister Abe and in the national discussion about the future of nuclear energy in South Korea. Plus, that most of the work of Greenpeace is not so visible - informing authorities, doing assessments for the local people in the Fukushima region, spreading information towards local communities in other countries faced with nuclear programmes and helping them with their local struggles.

Greenpeace does not accept financing from states or corporations and it is the people like the ones that join up at your local health food parking lot that help us doing what we do. Give them your support :-) Only in that way we can continue to expose how the nuclear industry is trying to frustrate the attempts to tackle global warming and continuing to expose us to unacceptable risks.

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Jan Haverkamp - Greenpeace
says:

@Orange Smiley - You can support us in several ways:

You can support your local Greenpeace office, if there is one (see top of this page,...

@Orange Smiley - You can support us in several ways:

You can support your local Greenpeace office, if there is one (see top of this page, click on the arrow right of the "Greenpeace International" and see if your country is there - go to the website and see how you can be involved and/or donate).

You can support us by getting involved. For that, look also at the top of this page and click the button "Get involved".

You can support us financially to be active for you. For that, click the button "Donate", also on the top of this page.